Every fall my sons will join their friends for a weekend camping trip. They’ve been doing this for years, and, inevitably, come home with some really funny stories. One of the funniest was recounted by a young man who had once worked as the Skateasaurus.

I’m not sure how many roller skating rinks are home to the Skateasaurus Rex, but at the rink in my neighborhood this popular attraction amazed children and adults alike with his dexterity on roller skates, in spite of his oversized, protruding green head.

Some children would follow him like a shadow, seemingly awestruck by his mere presence. Others would try to hang on to his leg as he skated around the rink, high-fiving the guests. Still others remained wary, and kept a safe distance from his imposing figure.

Then one day the unthinkable happened. Perhaps it was a little too much self-assurance that drove the Skateasaurus into some fancy skating maneuvers and ultimately toppled him off balance and sent him to the floor – and his head to the other end of the rink.

Pandemonium ensued. Children were screaming. The revelation that Skatesaurus was not who he seemed to be was more than some children could handle. It was like a contemporary rewrite of the scene from the Wizard of Oz when the Wizard entreats his visitors to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”  Fortunately, Dorothy and friends discover the Wizard is just an ordinary man pretending to be extraordinary.

We all know people like that, or maybe we are people like that, afraid to be authentic.  Can you imagine the chaos if, at the next staff meeting or family gathering, all of our heads fell off and the real us was exposed?

It could be cause for screaming, or it could be very refreshing!